Document scanning and imaging is a critical part of the quest for the paperless office. Many customers buy FileHold software for this purpose only. FileHold fully supports all scanning technologies and has been certified on products from Kodak, EMC, and Kofax. Following are some of the questions we have been asked. If your question is not answered here just send it to .
Does the document management software support full-text indexing with OCR capability?
FileHold document management software can full text index documents that contain full text information. With every sale of The document management software we ship a scanning software package called QuickScan Pro, from EMC Captiva which can scan paper documents and convert them via OCR to a fully text searchable PDF format. These documents can be imported into FileHold where the document management software search engine reads the full text information and indexes this so that users can do keyword searches or other advanced searches.
How do you use barcode cover sheets to improve document scanning efficiencies?
QuickScan Pro, ships with FileHold document management software, can recognize barcodes and creates a new document when a page with a barcode is detected. You can also add the barcode value to the document file name, or you can create a filter that only detects barcodes of certain values for separation and ignores other barcodes.
One way to create a barcode cover sheet is to open up an Excel document, and then using the 3of9 barcode font, create a barcode page. They can be printed from Excel or some people turn them into a PDF and print them out - whatever is easier.
FileHold recommends you print the cover sheets out on lightly coloured paper (light yellow, pale blue, light green etc) so that visually the separator page "pops" in the stack of white paper you are about to scan. That way the scanner operator can visually separate the pages. Use a different colour for batch, document or other barcode based automation.
After scanning each batch you can place all documents from that day in a bankers storage box, label it with a Scan Date and what types of files are inside. The box can be put into long term storage. The document management software actually has a place where you can store some metadata associated with the contents of the box and record where it has been stored It is also a good idea to check to do constant quality control check on the scanned images as there is the possibility of a small percentage of failure.
To learn more about document scanning, click here.
How do I create a Barcode cover sheet?
Please find attached a 3of9 barcode font (contact for this file) in zip format. Install this into your Windows machine. This is one of many barcodes supported by.
You can do document separator sheets, batch separator sheets and other things as well. The document scanning software creates a new document when a page with a barcode is detected. You can also add the barcode value to the document file name, or you can create a filter that only detects barcodes of certain values for separation and ignores other barcodes. I have attached some samples of basic pages we have used in the past.
The process is then to open up an Excel document, and then using the 3of9 barcode create a barcode page and print it out. Some people turn them into PDF and then print them out, it's up to you what you want to use.
FileHold recommends you print these out on lightly coloured paper (light yellow, pale blue, light green etc) so that visually the separator page "pops" in the stack of white paper you are about to scan. That way the scanner operator can visually separate the pages. Use a different colour for batch, document or other barcode based automation.
I also recommend after scanning each batch / day that you place all documents from that day in a bankers storage box, label it with a Scan Date and what types of files are inside - then shred or put into long term storage within a period of time (60 days). It is a good idea to check on 0.1 to 1-2% of all scans (depends on type of information) to maintain quality control. I have heard some medical organizations check a much higher percentage.
Can we store images in the document management software?
You can store any type of file or document within FileHold document management software, and this includes images. We support up to a maximum file size of 1.7 GB - so very large files can be stored within the document management software. We would recommend using our .NET 2.0 desktop clients to upload or download these large files.
How does the document management software automate the scanning and filing process?
FileHold has the following suggested processes working with Document scanning Software:
- First; split the document into single pages (each as a PDF) or keep the entire document as one file (PDF) either is easy to setup in The document scanning software that ships with the document management software.
- Create index fields within QuickScan Pro; for example "Owners name, address, client number, unit number and week", the scanner operator could then enter this in manually which would take maybe 20 seconds to key in within QuickScan Pro. While they do this they will see the documents they are indexing in QuickScan Pro's file viewer.
- If some of the documents are handwritten it might be best to have the scanner operator index each batch in one easy step, The document scanning software can then apply this index information to all documents or pages within a batch. Handwriting recognition is possible, but usually not as accurate unless very specialized and expensive software is purchased.
- At the end of the batch, with The document scanning software doing all the work except for the quick data entry of the 5 index fields by the scanner operator, the batch is closed, and a new batch can be started and the process repeats itself. The document scanning software then generates an export XML file automatically for each batch upon batch completion.
- FileHold document management software can then read this export XML file, and pull out all index information, and automatically tag each document. Both index information and documents are than imported into the document management software using our powerful Desktop Client that is designed for batch uploads/downloads by FileHold power users and scanner operators.
- Once imported into the document management software the users can then search for documents or files using the any/all of the index fields using the document management software powerful search engine.
- When going paperless, the biggest cost is the time spent by people scanning, imaging, OCRing, and creating PDF documents of each scan. With QuickScan Pro and FileHold you can automate the entire process as much as you would like, keeping the scanner operator highly productive.
- An additional benefit is you can save each batch / document type settings, and re-use them on additional or replacement QuickScan Pro workstations. Other software may require the scanner operator or IT administrator to configure the system each time, which can be a tedious and repetitive process.
- Part of the FileHold process is to help customers understand configurations of both the document scanning software and FileHold, and to help them through the entire process. It's quite easy once the first configuration is completed.
